Queen of Cups - Intuition

The Queen is an influential, calm, stable, intuitive and compassionate figure. I love the description of this card in the hand book from the Mary Hanson-Roberts tarot deck."This queen drinks deeply from the cup of life."

This is one of my very favouite cards and for me I consider it to be an example of how I intend to live my life. For some, following one's intuition rather that their intellect as this queen represents, can be a daunting and frightening way of living, as there seems to be a lack of control and most people want to feel in control of their lives. We can have a modicum of control of our lives, in that we choose and control our own behaviours, no one else's.

I see letting go of control, as being a good thing, when it comes to life generally, because we can't control most things that happen in our lives. This has everything to do with acceptance, and living life on life terms and understanding the one constant in life is change, and we have to learn how to adapt to change.

            " Intuition is the treasure of a woman's psyche."

                                                        - Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Vasalisa The Wise - Egg Tempera - Catherine Meyers

King of Wands - The Heroes Journey

Heroes always never think of themselves as heroes. Like the King of Wands, possesses  the courage of a lion, with such a soft heart. This rather dual character can create serious dilemmas, and can be difficult to overcome, especially when having to do things that may not feel right, and go against the grain, creating conflict within. Emotion and feelings are placed on the back burner in order to do what must be done. This can sometimes cause guilt, shame and sadness or even post traumatic stress in extreme circumstances.

There is so much to admire about the King of Wands, especially his leadership strength, abilities and creative, energetic spirit that he embodies. The character defects, of impatience and his quick temper can get him into trouble. Combine this with the desire to control and manage is problematic. It's one thing to have leadership abilities, but if these are not tempered with patience, calm, and humility, leadership can quickly be interpreted as being overbearingly bossy, only resulting in alienating the very people one is trying to help.

I have know several men and women in my life that I consider heroes and heroines. Ultimately we all have to learn how to be our own hero or heroine and rescue ourselves  from our character defects and strive to have the courage of the lion, while still keeping that soft heart intact, full of compassion for others and for ourselves. We cannot give away what we do not have for ourselves.